January 12, 2013
Scotland

Trump vows to fight offshore wind farm ‘for as long as it takes’

By Neil Drysdale | STV | 12 January 2013 | stv.tv

The executive vice president of Trump International has warned the Scottish Government that his organisation is “100% committed” to halting the construction of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre in Aberdeen Bay.

In an exclusive interview with STV, George Sorial confirmed that Trump International are in the process of taking legal action, requesting that Marine Scotland hold a public inquiry into the controversial proposal to build 12 wind turbines in the north-east.

They are also prepared to follow the example of RoadSense campaigner William Walton who, almost single-handedly, prevented the start of work on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route for years, by pursuing the matter through the courts.

Mr Sorial said: “We are not going anywhere because we have built something we are proud of, we believe we are making a positive contribution to the north-east and we don’t want it spoiled by horrific wind turbines.

“This is a really, really dangerous situation, because the First Minister is one of the driving forces behind the EOWDC and yet the whole scheme is madness.

“It is also a tragedy because sacred sites in Scotland are being destroyed and decimated by these wind farm projects. But we have faith we can change people’s minds. We can see the tide turning on projects such as the EOWDC and we have to show these things don’t work.

“We saw, in the case of Mr Walton, that one person with limited resources was able to hold up the [AWPR] venture, and we are better equipped to take the fight to bodies such as Marine Scotland. If we don’t succeed in gaining a public review from them, we will challenge the verdict and explore different avenues. But we won’t walk away.”

Mr Sorial even backed the idea of a public referendum over the EOWDC and, while admitting he wasn’t an expert on Scots law, claimed that a consultation wasn’t enough.

He said: “Right now, we’ve lodged a legal objection, but I understand the value of a referendum, given that these turbines will have a negative impact on tens of thousands of people in and around Aberdeen Bay. And, for all the talk of it being an offshore scheme, that just isn’t true. This is a coastal development and, once these turbines are there, they’re there.”

The Scottish Government has not commented so far on the progress of the EOWDC application. However, STV understands they remain determined to press ahead with their objective of backing renewable projects throughout Scotland and have resisted attempts by several local authorities to call moratoriums on new planning applications.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/01/12/trump-vows-to-fight-offshore-wind-farm-for-as-long-as-it-takes/